Oh man, I must be honest- keeping my joyful, care-free vacation mindset this week, has been a little bit of a challenge…
I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love the lights, the cozy fireplaces, the decorations, the nostalgic Christmas tunes, the time spent with loved ones, the snow that makes it feel even more festive and most importantly the celebration of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. But I hate the way that during this season the focus can change ever so quickly to frustration and crankiness that is driven by the pressure to get everything done on time, get the decorations up so the house looks just like the Pottery Barn catalog (I wish), and get everyone the perfect gift(s).
The other day, I woke up very ambitious to check a handful of items off my list. I was looking forward to my little plan to finish in a few hours, go home to put up the rest of the decorations, and finish the evening with a glass of wine in hand as I put my feet up under a cozy blanket in attempts of ridding myself of a nasty cold. Let me just say, the day did not go as planned. The 3 stops I planned turned into 6, (not including the 3 trips I made into the same exact store) the "simple" items on my list were nowhere to be found, and my “convenient” order on Amazon turned into a hustle to cancel it in time as I found out it had already been purchased. What I had hoped to be a joy-filled time of gift buying ended with a rapid heart rate and a beer with lunch as I took deep breaths and worked on chilling out because I was just SO FRUSTRATED.
The thing that made me upset was not just the lack of accomplishment, but the fact that my joy was squashed- and I let it own me all day long. I was so excited about getting caught up in the joy of the season and SPLAT everything went awry and my happiness went out the window.
What really gets me is, I think this is exactly what the evil one would want out of us during the holiday season, (or anytime for that matter). He doesn’t want us to be joyful, to be filled with excitement about spending time with our loved ones and to have time to sit and think about the real reason for the season- the birth of Jesus! He wants us to dwell in that frustration and to let it continue to put a kabosh on the joy that we have been given through Christ.
I don’t want to let this happen!! I’m not giving up on my pursuit of finding freedom and joy in the midst of the crazy! I mean shoot- the Christmas song is Joy to the World is it not? ;) If things go awry with my Christmas shopping, or I can’t get rid of this cold for days (please no) or whatever else pushes my buttons… I want to try really hard to keep the cranks from taking over. I want joy to be my overwhelming mood, preferably always (hah), but especially during this special season where we celebrate the gift of Jesus.
Wish me luck… ;) xoxo
